OUR SUMMER JOURNEY BEGINS

On July 10, we set out on a summer journey with our 15yo grandson, Dalton.  Dalton lives in North Carolina and hasn't been out of the state very much.  He's been to Virginia, DC, South Carolina and he came to see us a few times when we were still living in Arkansas.  We were surprised he actually wanted to hang out with his grandparents.  We figure this will be the last year he will want to go much of any place with us because next year he will be 16, driving and maybe have a job.  We tried to tell him we could at times be very boring, but he still wanted to come with us.

 

We discussed several options of where to go -- Williamsburg, Virginia; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Florida, but eventually settled on South Dakota.  We really didn't want to go South -- we were hoping to find cooler weather North.  SD is our legal residence and we've actually only been there once -- in 2010. 

 

Alan made an appointment to have the transmission oil changed at eight o'clock on the day we left.  Why he didn't do it BEFORE we left is beyond me.  So, at six o'clock on Wednesday morning, July 10, Dalton knocked on our door loaded down with his pillows and ready to go.  I cleared out a drawer in the bedroom for his clothes and made room in the closet so he wouldn't have to live out of a suitcase.

 

All packed and ready to roll.

 

First stop, Cummins at Kenly, NC, about an hour down I-95 from where the kids live.

 

 

We hung out in the RV lounge and tried to be patient, but it ended up taking much longer than we anticipated.  Finally, at 12:35 we pulled away from Cummins and our trip really began.



We already wore him out!

 

 

Since my hope is to catch up on this blog, I am not going to give the details of every stop along the way.  Our route went from Kenly to Mt Airy, North Carolina to Milton, West Virginia to Dayton, Ohio, where we spent three nights at the Wright-Patterson AFB FamCamp.  We toured the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Alan worked F-111s like this at Cannon AFB, NM

Alan worked on C-130s like this at Little Rock AFB, AR

Aircraft that carried the shuttle to Wright-Pat AFB

For the most part, the museum is manned by volunteers.  The second day, we planned to tour the Presidential section of the museum.  This part of the museum is actually on Wright-Patterson AFB.  I noticed that when we were at the museum I did not hear anything about the Presidential display.  In 2010 when we toured the museum, they bussed non-military individuals to and from the Presidential section on base.  Because we have retired military ID cards, we are able to enter the base on our own.  As we drove thru the gate, we couldn't help but notice how deserted everything was, but just thought it was that way because it was Sunday.  We asked the gate attendant if the Presidential display was open, but he didn't know.  We found our way to the hangar where the display is and ended up being followed by Security Police.  We knew then something was up.  Sure enough it was closed until further notice "DUE TO SEQUESTRATION." 

We were so disappointed.  We had told Dalton about the Presidential planes he would see, including Air Force One that transported President Kennedy from Dallas after he was assassinated.

 

There was a muscle car show going on at Wright State University so we headed there.  We have never seen so many GTOs in one place.

 

Papa enjoyed showing Dalton what a "real" muscle car looks like.

 

On Monday morning, July 15, we left Dayton, heading northwest by way of Crawford, Indiana and Rockford, Illinois, where we stopped at the Blackhawk RV Park. 

 

This park had many seasonals, but their areas were well maintained.

 

We wanted to try and see our grandson -- Allen, the one who recently graduated from Navy basic training.  He and Dalton had not seen each other in a couple of years and we wanted to take him to lunch for his 21st birthday which would be on July 27.  We wanted to stay off the toll roads if we could, so we took the backroads.  It was slow going thru small towns and it ended up taking us two hours to reach Great Lakes. 

 

We took Allen to lunch and enjoyed Chicago-style pizza.

 

And instead of a birthday cake, we had "smores" pizza dessert.

 

We also visited the local mall where we ran into these guys.

 

We enjoyed our visit with Allen although it was too short for this Nana, but at least we got to see him and celebrate his birthday.  We are very proud of him and his decision to serve our country.

Our last stop before reaching South Dakota was Rochester, Minnesota.  When we pulled into our site, these were our neighbors -- 6 guy all over the age of 60 bike riding 3500 miles in 55 days in support of the Wounded Warrior Project.  They started in Astoria, Oregon, and, God willing, will end their journey in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

It was a pleasure visiting with them.  They said when they started they thought they might raise $25,000 for the Wounded Warriors and were amazed how quickly they surpassed that and currently had raised almost $100,000.  I'm sure by the time they reach New Hampshire, they will have passed that mark as well.

If you are interested in reading and learning more about their mission, or would like to make a donation, please check out their blog at www.6over60raa.com.

The following day we reached our first destination of Mitchell, South Dakota. 

In our next post, we will outline what we saw and did in the area.  Thanks for stopping by -- may God bless you and my God continue to bless our voyage.

 

WE'RE BACK!

I'm not too sure I still remember how to blog, but thought I would give it a try and see what happens.

After my last post last September, where have we been and what have we been doing?  It may take me several posts to catch up, but I will try to keep them short -- but, as you probably know, I can be quite wordy and I do have approximately 10 months to catch up on.

 

First of all, we spent three months (November-January) in South Texas working as gate guards for oil rigs.  Since we signed a non-disclosure statement, I sort of lost interest in blogging since I couldn't really write about what we were doing --  what was the point??

 

How was gate guarding you ask?  I can honestly say it wasn't that bad -- at least where we were.  The biggest problem we encountered was poor internet and phone service.  We were strictly in an AT&T area and we are Verizon customers.  So, I placed our internet service on hold and actually purchased AT&T internet service.  We went to Walmart and purchased AT&T go-phones.  There was no way we were going to be without internet and phone service. 

Another situation was the hours.  As you know, gate guarding is a 24/7 job.  Since Alan had worked nights most of his career, we decided he would work nights and I would work days.  However, after a week of being up and out in the hot sun all day, I told him we had to come up with a better plan.  So, we started working 6-hour shifts, me 8-2 pm, him 2-8 pm, me from 8-2 am and him from 2-8 am.  This worked much better for us.  Unfortunately, we also gained weight.  During the fracking process, they feed the crews twice a day -- noon and midnight -- and would also drop off the food to us.  It was nice not to have to worry about what we were going to eat, but we also ate too much.

One of our goals was to make enough money to purchase new furniture for the MH and we accomplished that.  Alan removed our uncomfortable couch and chair and we replaced them with these.

 

A friend mentioned it looked like we had turned into our parents...lol, but that's okay because they are much more comfortable.

After we were relieved from our gate in January, we intended to wait on another gate.  By that time, there were so many snow-birds waiting for gates, they didn't even have room for us in the holding yards.  So, we went to a park in San Antonio and I called every day for a week.  It was February and we planned on leaving the area the first of March, so we decided not to wait for another gate.

We returned to Corpus Christi for the month of February.  We stayed in the Naval FamCamp and I visited with a dear friend who lives in CC.  Charlcie and I have been friends for nearly 30 years.  We became friends when both our husbands were stationed at Cannon AFB, NM.  She was my mentor and helped me to adjust to military life and working for the government.  We were also neighbors -- just so many memories and such an awesome friend!

 

 

We shopped, we went out to eat, we went to the movies, she drove us around & showed us all the sites and we visited and visited. 

 

Around the 1st of March, we left TX to visit our family in OK before heading to Texarkana, AR over Easter for a surprise farewell party for our grandson, who was joining the Navy.

 

In OK, we took our son, Adam, and granddaughter, Morgan, to WinterJam, a Christian concert held in Tulsa.  It was a cold, wet day and we stood in line for a couple of hours before the doors opened.  You pay $10 and seating is first-come, first-served, but it was well worth the ten bucks. 

Morgan and Papa

 

We had a great visit with our own Okies from Muskogee and then moved on to Arkansas, where we visited our son Jon, daughter-in-law Mindy and Grandson Allen.  This was the first time we had seen Jon in almost three years.  We saw Allen & Mindy in 2011 but not Jon, due to his work schedule.

 

Papa, Nana, Allen, Jon & Mindy



 

Allen's cake and homemade Strawberry pies

Following this, we headed back to NC, where we once again parked in our daughter's driveway and we also celebrated Mother's Day.

 





 Granddaughter Sarah, Daughter Alissa, Me and Grandson Dalton

 

Although I am the shortest, I promise I am the Mother/Nana of these beautiful people.

 

We also celebrated Sarah's graduation from college.

 

 

 

And Dalton's 15th birthday with a trip to Myrtle Beach and lunch at Johnny Rockers.

 

 

 

Three weeks ago, we flew to Great Lakes, IL to attend Allen's graduation from Navy basic training.  It was quite a production with the band, choir and over 900 new sailors graduating. 

 

 

 

Needless to say, we are very proud of him.

That pretty much quickly catches us up to where we are now, without all the minute details.  That wasn't too painful, was it?

We promised our 15yo Grandson, Dalton, we would take him on a trip and that's where we are now.  We are 300 miles East of South Dakota and will be there tomorrow.  Before we set out, Dalton asked me if I was still blogging.  That's one of the reasons I am trying to blog again -- for him and other family members and friends. 

 

Hopefully, you will come back to see what we have done and are doing.  We will work on the map and location on the right side before our next post.

 

May God continue to bless all of you and may God bless our voyage as well.

 

AHHH, FREEDOM!!

PRAISE THE LORD WE HAVE BEEN RELEASED FROM THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM!!  That's how it felt at our Summer workamper gig since we had limited cell and internet service.

There's a lot we could say about this Summer's job, but we won't bore everyone with all the details.  We likened our experience to the TV reality show "Big Brother" -- people made alliances and then were very careful who they talked to and what they shared...LOL!!  Speaking of Big Brother, we watched the finale last night and was glad the jury selected Ian as the winner.   Yogi in the Smokies and Cherokee was an experience we won't forget anytime soon.  Not all was bad -- Alan lost approximately 20 lbs over the Summer working hard in the heat.  And I am happy to say I learned the Campground Manager reservation system and overcame my fear of handling money, learning how to balance my register and finalizing all required reports at the end of my shift.  It was a challenging experience in many ways and there were days we both wanted to give up and quit, but we managed to adapt and overcome and made some good friends along the way.  We had a lot of rain in the mountains and as a result fought mold in the Motorhome most of the Summer.  We finally bought a dehumidifier and have been amazed at the amount of moisture it has pulled out. 

 

We left Cherokee ten days ago (Sept 10) and headed to Fletcher, NC, where we bought new tires for the Motorhome.  Because FMCA (Family Motor Coach Ass'n) has a program with Michelin, we joined FMCA for $50 and are very pleased with the program.  Snider Tire Company installed and balanced six brand new Michelin tires, with a manufacture date on all six tires of 29/12, meaning the 29th week of 2012.  Total cost was less than $3000.  Camping World had given us an estimate for six Goodyear tires for $4700.  Joining FMCA for $50 was a bargain.

 

We then headed to Tom Johnson RV Center in Marion, NC,  for extended warranty work.  While in Cherokee, our Splendide washer and our Sharp convection/microwave both died.  We purchased a cheap microwave at Walmart so we could at least warm our food.  We have been having a problem with one of our living room slides for a long time, so we had Tom Johnson check it out.  The teflon guides for the slide rails were broken and will have to be made and will not be shipped for at least another week.   It was the motor on the Splendide washer and they were able to get the motor for that rather quickly.  They had to send the convection/microwave to a local electronics company who -- as of today -- had not even looked at it.  Tomorrow they will reinstall the washer.  Since I have follow-up appointments at Duke next Monday and Wednesday, we have decided to leave on Saturday and return in a couple of weeks for the slide repair and convection/microwave.  The techs think the convection will actually be replaced but have to go thru the steps required by the extended warranty company.

 

We've enjoyed the peace and quiet at Tom Johnson's.  The NC Good Sam Club is having a rally this weekend and the place has really filled up the past couple of days.  We will post some pictures soon.  The pads are concrete and plenty of green grass.  Across the street is the rally area with approximately 500 grassy, full hookup sites.

 

We've been trying to walk every day.  Yesterday while walking, a lady on a bike spoke and asked me my name.  To make a long story short, she is my cousin.  I met her last year for the first time and knew she lived in Marion but didn't know where or how to get in touch with her.  She had seen me for several days.  What a surprise -- she and her husband live nearby and often come to Tom Johnson's to walk and ride bikes.  Tomorrow Gail and her husband are taking us on an excursion -- not sure where we are going, possibly to my birthplace of Banner Elk, NC.  It truly is a small world!

 

Thanks for stopping by.  I'm trying to get back in the swing of blogging.  We'll see how it goes!

Work, work, work -- we asked for it -- we got it!  Yesterday we started learning our respective jobs -- Alan in maintenance and me in the office/store.  We only worked four hours yesterday, but we were pretty whipped by the time we finished...we are such wimps -- LOL! I sort of just hung out and watched how things are done in the office yesterday.  You can show me all day, but I have to get in there and actually have hands-on to really learn a particular job.  Today I got my opportunity -- I answered the phone and made a couple of reservations.  And we also priced and stocked new merchandise in the store.  We worked from 9:00 - 3:30 today, with 30 minutes for lunch.  My main job is to learn Campground Manager, the computer reservation system.  Last year at Branson I learned Campground Master.  Manager is more in-depth, but it does do most everything for you, as far as calculating the total cost of a reservation.  Also, we must take a one-night deposit for all reservations and if a reservation falls during a holiday, the total cost must be paid in full.  So, that means taking and processing credit card information over the phone at the time of the reservation.  One feature I really like  about Campground Manager is being able to email a customer their reservation confirmation straight from the computer.  I have never sold merchandise and worked a cash register before, but with modern technology, it doesn't appear to be too difficult.  Currently, the park is not that busy, but that will change next week.

Alan will be responsible for maintaining the pool, escorting folks to their sites, pumping propane, among other things.  Today he placed solar lights on top of poles next to some of the cabins and then helped build wooden benches from trees that were previously cut down.  

This is a busy park, with over 100 reservations scheduled over the Memorial weekend.  It looks like we will be working 25-30 hours a week, maybe more during the holidays.  A couple of workamping couples scheduled to work has called saying they will not be coming, so that may make it difficult for those workampers that are here.  I have been very impressed with the workers and managers -- they take great pride in their work.

We had a staff meeting with a potluck last night.  Hamburgers and hot dogs were furnished and we all brought side dishes.  Alan made his "world famous" banana pudding as our contribution.

We were both tired after working our six hours today, so we drove into Cherokee and ate at Paul's Restaurant where we had Indian tacos...yummy.  

Tomorrow all the workampers are going on an adventure -- a four-hour train ride through the Great Smokey Mountains.  It's one of those benefits we get for working at Yogi in the Smokies.

I hope to have pictures to post.  Our internet service appears to be better late at night or early in the morning, so I hope to get some pics of our train ride posted when we have a break from work.  In the meantime, you can check it out by reviewing their website here.

Also, if you really want to look at the campground, you can do that here.

We've had quite a bit of rain this week.  It started raining early Sunday morning and was continuous until early Monday morning.  At least it was a nice gentle rain.  Then yesterday it came a downpour, but the forecast looks much better for the remainder of the week.

YEAH, I managed to post a picture.  I think it's all about timing -- it's currently after 11:00 on a Wednesday night.  As you can see, the mountains are living up to their reputation -- smokey -- or in the clouds in this pic.  It's beautiful here and I hope to get some good pictures soon.


Thanks for stopping by -- stay turned as we continue to share our workamping experiences, as well as our traveling and sightseeing opportunities.  God bless!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

We have arrived in Cherokee, North Carolina, for our Summer workamping experience.  More to come on that later.  Although our Verizon Aircard shows 5 bars, it is very slow -- maybe because of all the trees and today it is raining, which doesn't help.  Perhaps an additional antennae would help -- if you have any suggestions, please let me know.  There is WiFi here, but it only has 3 bars, so I'm not sure how that could be better -- besides it's not secure.

I just wanted to take a moment and wish all Mothers a Happy Mother's Day.  Today I am remembering my Mother.  Although she passed 15 years ago at the age of 71, I still think of her almost every day.  I wanted to upload pictures, but the computer is just way too slow for that.

She was the only girl with two older brothers.  I can only imagine the horror her parents felt when she met and married my dad and left them and the State of Arkansas for North Carolina.  And undoubtedly, that is part of the reason she left my Dad and returned home with my older brother and me when I was only three months old.  

There's a lot I remember about her, but the things that stand out the most to me today is her faith in God, her belief in prayer and her love for her family.  She always said, "You've got to have faith" and "You need to pray" about any given situation.  

So, today, I remember her with great fondness, respect and love.

Be safe out there and God bless you, one and all!

A Diamond in the Rough

We left the RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads in Roanoke Rapids this morning around 9:30, heading to Cherokee, North Carolina, in the Great Smokey Mountains.  About an hour or so into our drive, it began to rain, but it wasn't bad.  However, the further we drove, the harder it rained.  After about 3 more hours, we decided we had had enough and began searching for a place to stop for the night.  We had planned to stop at Tom Johnson RV Park in Marion, North Carolina, about 95 miles East of Cherokee, but quickly realized that was not going to happen.  So, I hopped on the computer and checked out rvparkreviews.  There was a campground that had great reviews near Hickory, North Carolina, so we decided we would stop there.  I called ahead to make sure they had space for us, which they did.  They have a code-entry gate, so the owner gave me the code when I called.  Maybe that should have been a hint, but we really didn't think much about it.

We got off I-40 at Exit 119.  That's what it said on their website -- "take Exit 119."  No signs -- absolutely no signs indicating a campground anywhere.  The website said it was only a mile off I-40, so how difficult could it be to find?  We came off the exit and came to a stop sign -- "Okay, which way do we turn?"  The sign said "Henry River" to the right and we knew the CG was supposedly near Henry River, so we turned right.  The website stated to make sure we turned on "Whitener Drive," not "Whitener Road," so we're looking for Whitener Drive but never saw it.  We went more than a mile and we were like, "Where in the heck is this CG" -- again, NO SIGNS.  So I called the CG again -- they asked where we were.  Of course, we had no clue, but we know we missed the CG.  She starts asking me questions like do you see old houses, etc.  All I see are signs alongside the road with Bible scriptures.  She says you will come to a section with old houses and all of a sudden, we were there.  Alan pulls into an area where he thinks he can turn around -- WRONG!  It's not raining as hard as it was, but it's still raining.  We get out, look around and there's no way he can make the turn to turn around.  We are stuck!  He decides to disconnect the car.  We have a leather car cover we use when towing and we did not want to take it off because it was so wet.  He disconnects the car and guides me in backing it up.  He then turns the MH around and reconnects the car.

After all was said and done, we found ourselves at the site where "District 12" of the Hunger Games was filmed.  Now we haven't seen the movie, so we have no idea what the Hunger Games are -- other than the advertisement we saw on TV.  However, our grandkids sure know and thought it was "cool" that we ended up there.

I managed to snap a couple of pictures while Alan turned the MH around and hooked the car back up.  If you have seen the movie, maybe you will recognize something from the pics.

We managed to get back on the road and the CG owner stayed on the phone with me until we were actually on the right road to the CG.  You must turn left on Costner Road, then right on Whitener Road, but again, NO SIGNS.  The owner told us the County will not allow signs because they do not have a bathhouse or allow tents -- all RVs must be self-contained -- and the DOT says your CG must be accessible to everyone before you put signs on the highway.   

A quarter of a mile or so down Whitener Road the road turns to gravel and you come to the coded gate.  (I'll get a pic of that tomorrow when we leave and post it tomorrow night).  

By this point, Alan is NOT a happy camper.  When that gate opened and he saw the road beyond going down into a valley, I do believe if he could have turned around -- again -- he would have.  Anyway, we made it in -- the owner is super, super nice and was very apologetic about the problems we had in finding the campground.  By the time we got settled in and had some dinner, the rain stopped, the sun came out and we were able to explore our surroundings.  

It turned out to be a very nice little park we dubbed as a diamond in the rough.

Laundry -- 2 washers & 2 dryers

Catch and Release Pond

We even found the Henry River

We are happy and thankful to be back on the road and are looking forward to exploring Cherokee, the Great Smokey Mountains and beyond.